Only Chelsea and Tottenham have won more league games at home this season than Burnley so Southampton face a tall order at Turf Moor, especially as Claude Puel’s side are still struggling in front of goal. Former Burnley player Jay Rodriguez will be hoping to put that right to end a miserable run of three consecutive league defeats. Graham Searles
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England’s national team coach Roy Hodgson announced his preliminary 26 man squad for the world cup yesterday. There were mixed reactions as to the selection as is expected for a team with a pool of players to select from.
In the goal, Manchester City’s Joe Hart maintained his number one position after keeping 15 clean sheets in the just concluded season. He is joined by Fraser Foster of Southampton and Burnley’s Tom Heaten. the omission of Premier League Champions, Leicester City is something that has drawn a lot of attention as many people feel he is supposed to be the first to be called. he was head of the team’s defense as they made their run to the title.
In defense we have, Chris Smalling (Manchester United), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), John Stones (Everton), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur), Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur) and Nathaniel Clyne (liverpool).
Also there is some reason to ask questions about selected midfielders, as Newcastle United Andros Townsend and Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere were also included in the list. The 12 selected midfielders are Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Ross Barkley (Everton), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Danny Drinkwater (Leicester City), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), James Milner (Liverpool), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Andros Townsend (Newcastle United) and Jack Wilshere (Arsenal).
In attack, fast rising Manchester United star Marcos Rashford was the surprise inclusin as Jermaine Defoe was omitted. The manchester United youngster only made his debut for the senior team in February and has continued to impress both his manager and fans ever since. The selected attackers are as follows; Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool) and Marcus Rashford (Manchester United).
Roy Hodgson would have to omit three people for his 23 man world cup squad and we wonder who those players would be. Only time can tell.
The fact that his team is not performing well seems not to be the only problem Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho is facing. The Portuguese coach has been handed a one match stadium ban by the English FA for his misconduct during their 2-1 loss against West Ham 2 weeks back. Mourinho was provoked by the dismissal of his player, Nemanja Matic and his first team assistant coach Louro. During the half time break, the Portuguese approach the official in his changing room and refused to leave when asked to. He even made reference to the fact that Arsenal Boss Arsene Wenger had referred to the referee John Moss as being weak.
This would be the second ban that the Chelsea boss would be facing. The first which is also a stadium ban and a £50,000 fine is still being appealed and has not even been settled. This ban comes at a very wrong time for the Chelsea boss. Team doctor Eva Caneiro who was dismissed last two months after her rift with the coach, has taken the matter to court and the Chelsea boss is supposed to appear before an employment tribunal later this week. Chelsea currently seat at third position in their Champions League group and would host Dynamo in Wednesday. The match and Saturday’s match which Mourinho’s is supposed to miss following his ban are two important matches that could either buy him more time or lead to his sack.
The Barclays Premier League resumed this weekend with so much to look forward to. Would Chelsea continue their path to redemption, would arsenal top the league for a few hours and who would win the Manchester derby, those were questions we all wanted to be answered this weekend. Well we got the all the answers just in time.
Arsenal continued their winning streak in the Premier League with a 2-1 win over Everton at the Emirates stadium on Saturday while Liverpool and Southampton shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw. Vardy was the man again as he scored the only goal for Leicester City in their win over Crystal Palace, the goal makes him the top scorer in the Premier League with 10 goals in 10 matches for Leicester City. Andrew Ayew completed Swansea’s comeback against Aston Villa after going down by one goal thanks to a goal from his brother Jordan Ayew.
Tottenham Hotspur were the highest winners in the Premier League in match day 10 with a 5-1 victory over newly promoted side Bournemouth. Sunderland also got a 3-0 victory over Newcastle United while new promoted side Watford got a sweet 2-0 victory over Stoke City.
The Manchester derby which was scheduled for sunday ended up in goalless stalemate and there has been suggestions that this has been the worst ever derby in a long time.
Following the results, there is a lot to be said about the Premier League, just stay glued on here for updates as they roll out.
A lot was expected as all the leagues returned to action following the long international break but the Premier League just had so much going on for it. Chelsea were expected to have gotten the break needed to get them back to winning ways, Liverpool fans couldn’t wait to see the effects of their new coach, Arsenal longed to see their good run continue and Manchester United just wanted to be over their heavy lose at the Emirates.
Chelsea seemed to have found their rhythm in the absence of their main talisman Eden Hazard as they capitalised on Aston Villa’s defensive errors to win the game by 2 goals to nil. Manchester City were on fire, thrashing AC Bournemouth 5-1 with Raheem Sterling scoring three of those goals. Meanwhile United got the better of the game at Goodison park by winning 3-0, captain Wayne Rooney rounded off the scoring when he picked up a superb pass from Ander Herrera and lifted the ball over the on rushing keeper. Liverpool played harder, faster and with more enthusiasm but ended up sharing the spoils at White Hart Lane.
Southampton gave away a two goal lead as Vardy lead Leicester City to a great comeback to draw level with the second goal coming-in in the 90th minute. Late goals from Lazzini and Payet helped West Ham secure a vital win over Crystal Palace. Hot sensation Alexis Sanchez lead the rout as Arsenal came in strong in the second half to win newly promoted side Watford. Berahino was the man to burst Sunderland’s bubble as faced West Bromwich later in the day.
Earlier today, Wijnaldum scored a staggering four goals as Newcastle trashed Norwich City at St James Park. The Netherlands international scored twice in both halves of the game. And that leaves us with the last match of this round, which is Swansea vs Stoke City and that would be played tomorrow night.
Anthony Martial made player of the month
New Manchester United signing, Anthony Martial has been named as the Barclays player of the month for September. The French striker joined United from Monaco for a staggering £36 million but has since proven himself to be the real deal for United. On his debut for the club, Anthony Martial came off the bench and scored a wonderful goal at the strentford end against arch rivals Liverpool and since then he has continued his good form for the club. He also scored a brace against South Hampton overturning the deficit for the club before fellow United player Juan Mata rounded off the scoring in that match. The young striker beat fellow united team mate Daley Blind, Hugo Lloris and a host of other players to the award
Martial deserves this award following his stellar performance which he has further extended to country football. He always looked likely to score whenever he was on the ball in France’s euro qualification match against Denmark during the midweek. Martial was virtually unknown before his big money move to old trafford. The United board were even criticised by the media for spending such an amount for a player who was bring nothing but potential to the team but the french player quickly proved that he was worth every penny with his two performances.
Although Martial did win the Barclays player of the month, Juan Matt was the one who was voted by United fans for the club’s player of the month. He returns to action tomorrow as United travel to goodisoon park to face Everton.
Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho has lashed out at the English FA for the ban on him. Mourinho was handed a one match ban and £50,000 fine for his comments following his teams loss to South Hampton. He said during his post match conference that referees were now afraid of taking decisions in favour of his team, stating that Chelsea should have been awarded at least two spot kicks in the game. The Portuguese coach feels he is being singled out by the FA and doesn’t see it as being right.
He went on to remind the press that he was shoved by arch rival Arsene Webber at the technical area during their clash last season but the French man went unpunished. He also stated that the French man also made a bad comment after their clash in September where he referred to the Mike Dean as being naive and weak but also got away without any punishment from the FA
The fact that the French man was not punished by the FA for these two actions has led the Chelsea boss to say that he is being singled out for punishment. It is very unlikely that Chelsea would try to appeal the ban although they are still waiting for the FA’s written document on why they served Mourinho the stadium ban.
Chelsea currently sits in the 16th position, taking just 8 points from all their premier league matches this season. After the teams loss to South Hampton it was suggested that Mourinho’s job might be under threat but the clubs owner passed a vote of confidence on the Portuguese coach.
At the closing stages of the summer transfer market, Manchester United struggled to keep hold of the star player David De Gea while also spending big on the arrival of Anthony Martial from Monaco to conclude the transfer season for them. The two are already showing why the club was desperate to have them within their ranks. Their 3-2 victory over Southhampton away from home on Sunday was the perfect stage for the two players as Martial produced two wonderful goals to overturn the deficit for the team while De Gea at the other end of the pitch proved to be a solid rock between the sticks. A lot was said about the huge amount spent on young Anthony Martial who only had potential but no solid experience but with performances like the one he had against Southhampton, the critics might be wrong about this one.
Southhampton took the lead just 13 minutes into the game when Mane forced a brilliant save from De Gea with a powerful shot only for Graziano Pellè to tap onto the rebound and give the host the lead. They continued to press United in a bid to double their lead but De Gea kept on coming through for his team. Martial got the equalizer for the visitors in the 34th minute as he latched onto a loose ball and kept his composure to slot home inside the box. United almost took the lead minutes later from a quick corner by Depay but Schneiderlin could only guide his efforts past the post. Martial was the man again as he slid the ball pass Stekelenburg following a poor back pass from Yoshida to make it 2-1. Mata then made it 3-1 in the 68th minute which sealed all three points for the host. Pelle did get another goal four minutes from time which gave the host a glimpse of hope but De Gea continued his heroics to keep the visitors lead intact. The victory sees United move to second place on the table just below City rivals.
Liverpool’s Europa League campaign started with an away match to Bordeaux but their display wasn’t all that different from what we have been seeing them do in the premier league this term. Liverpool took the lead in the second half through a wonderful goal from Adam Lallana but Jussie was able to draw level for Bordeaux. Brendan Rodgers has been criticized for his surprise tactics and he seems to still be in the juggling game as his team reverted to a three-man defense allowing Jordan Ibe and Alberto Moreno to roam the flanks. Another point worth noting was the number of young players who featured for the team with Gomez, Rossiter and Jordan Ibe starting the match while Pedro and Bragnnagan were introduced in the later stages of the game. This influx of young players offers promises for the club’s fans.
Adams Lallana’s goal seemed to have secured all three points for Liverpool as the former Southampton drove in from the left, before curling the ball into the corner of the net. He missed their weekend clash against rivals, Manchester United through injury. Lallana’s technical ability has never been debated but his inability to convert a wonderful display into goal has always been a concern. Last night’s match showed that the young forward still had it in him as he was always a constant threat to the home team before getting a goal to crown his efforts for the night. He is sure to gain a starting berth in Brendan Rodger’s team if he continues to emulate this performance in subsequent matches.
Manchester United defeat to Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven would be of little worry to the club after they lost their player Luke Shaw to a serious injury. The England international fractured two bones in his right leg after PSV’s Hector Moreno’s tackle. Shaw’s injury came just 15 minutes into the game and it sure did have its effects on the players. He was carried off the pitch on a stretcher while wearing an oxygen mask as he groaned in agony. But PSV defender Moreno wasn’t penalized for the tackle after the tackle on Shaw. Former PSV player Memphis Depay who United signed early in the summer tried to lift the mood of the team and fans with an incredible solo goal against his former club minutes before the first half came to an end. Moreno who was still in the game went on to score an equalizer for PSV Eindhoven in the added time of the first half before Narsingh headed them into the lead in the second half of the game.
United started the game quite well after missing out on the Champions League last season only for them to end up losing a crucial player who was already in his top form. Following difficult first season at United after his big money move from South Hampton, Shaw, 20 was beginning to find his rhythm which has seen him start all eight of United’s games this season. He went under the knife same night and is expected to remain in the hospital to continue his recovery. The club’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward visited the player at St Anna hospital before heading back to England. The defender is said to be in a positive state of mind about his recovery as could be seen in a tweet he sent out just about an hour after being stretched of. It read “Thank you everyone for your messages, words can’t describe how gutted I am, my road to recovery starts now, I will come back stronger.”
